His enthusiasm drains out of him when he sees that no one’s gonna back him up.
“Dennis, you ready to show him how it’s done?” Joey says.
Dennis cracks his knuckles and dons a turnout coat. “Watch and learn, probie.”
“What do you think, probie?” Manny says. “Is the old man gonna beat your time?”
“I’m sure he will. He’s got experience on his side.”
Dennis sighs. “A little too much of it. All right boys, ready when you are.”
Joey lifts his stopwatch. “On your go, lieutenant.”
Dennis takes a deep breath, then springs into action. He moves swiftly and with purpose. He pulls the ladder out and hoists it up onto his shoulder in a smooth motion. He walks over to the tower without the slightest falter in his stride. He lays the ladder down. Nails it on the first try. No adjustments needed.
Manny holds the ladder as Dennis flies up the rungs like there’s lava beneath him. I watch the lieutenant, now in his late thirties, and can’t help but admire his level of fitness. Firefighters are supposed to stay in shape, but in reality, plenty of guys get too comfortable and let themselves go. Every station’s got crew members who can’t make it up the ladder as quickly as they used to thanks to their newly acquired spare tires. I pinch my abdomen under my shirt. I’m carrying a little more fat than I used to, but it’s not out of control—think Russell Crowe inGladiator: muscular, but not freakishly ripped. I’ll leave the vanity-fueled body fat monitoring to Joey and Jax.
“Forty-seven seconds!” Joey yells over the wind, which is pretty stiff this morning.
“Now that’s an old-fashioned spanking!” Manny says with delight. Dennis sheds his turnout coat and wipes his brow with the back of his hand. It’s a warm day for this time of year, and you can see the piles of snow melting and gurgling into the sewers. The world is glistening in the morning sun, and, looking around, I feel a sudden rush of optimism. Today’s the day I turn things around. Start getting healthy. Body and mind. Wholesome living. Push-ups every morning. Liquor only on social occasions. I can’t wait to call Penelope to let her know how my first day back went. The thought makes me smile. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. And when I open them, Jax looks at me with a strange expression. He’s not happy. What’s his deal?
He tells me to meet him in the living room to go over some paperwork concerning my fall. I can tell something is bothering him. Maybe he’s finally past the honeymoon phase and he’s starting to realize that marriage ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.
After putting my stuff in the locker room, I emerge at the top of the staircase. Jax sits on the W.O.C., but he’s not alone. Everyone else is in there too. Except for probie. He’s probably washing the truck. Or maybe he’s out on a grocery run.
My eyes dart from one face to the next—everyone seems intent on avoiding eye contact—I take a seat in the unoccupied easy chair that faces the couch. “We having a team meeting or something?”
Jax furrows his brow and looks down. The tension in the room is so thick, one could cut it with a knife.
Jax lifts his head with an expression of resolve. “Harp, we have some stuff we want to say to you. We’ll give you a chance to respond, but first . . . just listen.”
Joey stares at the floor, his lip curled with disdain. I don’t like one bit of this.
Jax takes a deep breath. “Harp, your doctor told me there was alcohol in your blood when they ran the tests. And we’re not talking about a trace amount here. You were drunk on the job, brother. I can only hope you weren’t all liquored up driving Kailee—”
“Stop right there. I would never drive drunk with my daughter in the car!” I say, fiercely. White-hot anger fills me. Who does he think he is, implying that I’d put my daughter in danger like that?
“But you’re cool risking all of our lives, huh?” Joey snaps.
“Screw you, Joey! You’re the last guy who should be lecturing others on responsible workplace condu—”
“All right, that’s enough!” Jax roars. “A minute in and we’re already at each other’s throats. This is exactly why I said you need to listen first, Harp.”
He stares daggers at me. Oh yeah, he thinks he’s a real badass. Just because he’s the youngest guy in our house to ever make lieutenant. I convey my assent and grind my teeth at the same time.
“Good,” Jax says. “Now, we’re gonna tell you how we feel about this situation. We’re not trying to attack you, Harp. We’re doing this because we care about you. But that doesn’t mean we’re gonna sugarcoat anything. This meeting is for getting everything out in the open—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Got it?”
“Then why don’t you hurry up and get on with it?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had such a busy morning planned. What’s on tap for today, Harp? Got a big day of drinking ahead of you?”
I stand up, ready to rearrange my lieutenant’s smug face. That long narrow nose of his—I bet it would break easily.
“Sit down, Harp,” Dennis says, his tone authoritative.
I look at the mild-mannered lieutenant.You too, huh? Is anyone on my side?
Just as I’m about to walk out on this bullshit intervention, the alarm goes off. I hate this sound more than anything in the world.
